August 23, 2012

Unitas was chosen in the 9th
round of the 1955 NFL draft by the Steelers, but failed to make the team in the
preseason. After playing semi-pro football, he was signed by the Colts to back
up starting QB George Shaw. When Shaw went down with a broken kneecap four
games into the ’56 season, Unitas got his chance, showed potential, and held
onto the job. He broke out in 1957, leading the league in pass attempts (301),
yards (2550), TD passes (24), and yards per attempt (8.5). The Colts contended
and Unitas was selected to the Pro Bowl and received MVP consideration. It set
the stage for a championship season in ’58, with Unitas leading the NFL with 19
TD passes despite missing two games due to injury and then leading the Colts to
a title with a memorable overtime win over the Giants. Unitas was chosen to a
second Pro Bowl and was a consensus first-team All-Pro for the first time.

1959 Season Summary

Appeared in all 12 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate
league rank in Top 20]

Passing

Attempts – 367 [1]

Most attempts, game – 41 vs.
Cleveland 11/1

Completions – 193 [1]

Most completions, game – 23 vs.
Cleveland 11/1

Yards – 2899 [1]

Most yards, game – 397 vs. Cleveland 11/1

Completion percentage – 52.6 [5]

Yards per attempt – 7.9 [3]

TD passes – 32 [1]

Most TD passes, game – 4 vs.
Cleveland 11/1

Interceptions – 14 [5, tied with Norm Van Brocklin]

Most interceptions, game – 3
vs. Chi. Bears 10/3, vs. Cleveland
11/1

Passer rating – 92.0 [2]

300-yard passing games – 2

200-yard passing games – 10

Rushing

Attempts – 29

Yards – 145

Yards per attempt – 5.0

TDs – 2

Scoring

TDs – 2

Points – 12

Postseason: 1 G (NFL
Championship vs. NY Giants)

Pass attempts – 29

Pass completions – 18

Passing yardage – 264

TD passes – 2

Interceptions – 0

Rushing attempts – 2

Rushing yards – 6

Average gain rushing – 3.0

Rushing TDs – 1

Awards & Honors:

NFL MVP: AP, UPI, Bert Bell
Award, Sporting News

1st team All-NFL:
AP, NEA, UPI, NY Daily News, Sporting News

Pro Bowl

The Colts went 9-3 to finish
first in the Western Conference while leading the league in total yards (4458),
passing yards (2753), scoring (374 points), and touchdowns (51). Won NFL
Championship over New York
Giants (31-16).

Aftermath:

Unitas continued to excel,
although the Colts went into a brief decline. An outstanding play-caller as
well as passer with a quick release, he was adept at throwing long, short, or
in between. The 1959 season was part of a record 47-straight-game TD passing
streak that ended in 1960. Unitas set then-NFL standards for pass attempts
(5186), completions (2830), yards (40,239) and touchdowns (290) in a career
that extended until 1973. He was an MVP twice more, was named to 10 Pro Bowls,
and selected to the NFL’s 75th Anniversary All-Time team. Unitas had
his #19 retired by the Colts and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of
Fame, Class of 1979.

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MVP Profiles feature players who were named MVP or Player of the Year in the NFL, AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974), or USFL (1983-85) by a recognized organization (Associated Press, Pro Football Writers Association, Newspaper Enterprise Association, United Press International, The Sporting News, Maxwell Club – Bert Bell Award, or the league itself). Also includes Associated Press NFL Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year.[Updated 2/7/14]